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And for JP's birthday on 6/20, will Mark gift him and us, the start of the 16th novel in this remarkable saga? Thank you Mark and Team Arbour!

It's a good thing that Greg is already dead...

Somehow I think I screwed up and accidentally "un-liked" the chapter which couldn't be further from the truth!mmtried to correct but kept getting an error message... A great way to wrap up the story covering a lot of ground. The first segment with dinner at Escorial was classic but had a somewhat somber closing given what was transpiring and recognizing JP's experience was sobering, especially with all that we have seen since then. How does the saying go - if we don't learn from our history we are doomed to repeat it? Will we never learn...? For the "Will-haters", does this chapter redeem him at all? LOL Classic wrap up with the déjà vu birthing experience and all of the dialog byplay in the delivery room...the birth date caught me by surprise and certainly moistened the eyes... Thank you Mark and team for another wonderful story segment of the CAP universe!

Mark - I like your commentary to RJO. So we have Mary Ellen with her own title - instead of having K.B., which she would never have, she has N.B.

Well I must say that this chapter was not very kind to JJ. At least the opening salvo of Mary Ellen's plan has been fired and he knows what is coming. I think that Wade is probably right to worry about his mother and Alex's father having that conversation and who knows what is going to come out of that, except probably a few or more tense chapters! Brad Brad Brad Brad - heavy sigh... It would appear that Sisyphus' boulder has landed on JJ's knee and I am very glad that Matt was there with him during the diagnosis. Will we have an opportunity to see Matt shine as he helps JJ get through this?

Excellent chapter all around and I have to admit that I too was surprised by Tiffany… JJ is bigger than any mere boulder! I must admit that he has not been my favorite's character but it is nice to see his success even though it was blunted but her announcement

I really enjoyed Wade's comment about Mary Ellen being the snake that it just slithered into the garden - A point very well brought home by how that segment of the story closed out. At Escorial, a Christmas full of meaningful gifts. I really enjoyed reading that section with the description of Marc's paintings for the family members that received them... Thank you Mark and team!

There certainly is a lot going on in this chapter to make most anyone happy! Though I didn't comment on the last chapter I'll say it now - Welcome back Mark and team, you have been missed! The end of the chapter certainly was dramatic and I find myself struggling to remember the state of medications for AIDS 13 years ago. I am sure that by today's standards they were pretty crude but if I use Magic Johnson as a rough timeline comparison, they were enough to slow the progression of the disease to slow the progression to full-blown AIDS. If Kevin shows up for dinner it certainly has the potential to be a volatile mix! Another factor to consider is how will Wally and Claire react if it becomes generally known (I'm assuming that it is not) that Kevin has the disease, and how will that correlate to their fear of perhaps Will infecting Zack? You almost have to have to presume that's where their thoughts are going to go...

I think the bigger issue here that no has addressed is the pent up sexual activity that surely must have all of our favorite characters near ready to burst! I predict a massive amount of overdue orgasmic shrieks, moans, groans, and facial contortions that would make Orgasmic Stefan look and sound like mere suppressed sighs and light blushing! Thanks Mark for all that you and your team has already given to us, and I'm sure I can say for others that we wait patiently (more or less), for your eventual return to us via story updates.... Until then -

Yes, a whole JJ chapter was almost more than I could handle! It is very nice to see an in-depth view of his psyche. It was nice of his family to surprise him when he had pretty much dismissed them for missing his birthday or treating it as yet another nonevent. New relationship or not, I was very disappointed that Brad was not there for him, and given Marc's seemingly good read on the overall situation, a bit surprised that he didn't encourage Brad to be there, showing or not. Now that JJ seemingly has a plan in order to combat Mary Ellen, it will be very interesting to see how the whole situation plays out over the next few to several chapters…

I would say that the excrement has hit the fan and Mary Ellen is standing in the path of that mess!

Sex doctor Matt Ruth?

I am not sure what I enjoy most about Mark's stories but being allowed to follow along Grangers review about how he conducts himself vs. Nelson given the relative backgrounds, was an outstanding piece of introspection and revelation. I too can hardly wait just to see how wonderful this young prince of Sicily will be as he takes up his role as midshipman!

This was a fun chapter all around with surprises at each corner. Always nice to see the Dragon tamed but we shouldn't assume that Wade's mother will just lie down and take it without creating some waves. It was great to see all of the brothers pulling together but as Mark has noted previously that is part of the family dynamic – it is just great to see that affirmed. On a different note altogether it is interesting that we are going to have another situation where the paternity of future children could be up in the air, unless they do something to ensure the JJ doesn't impregnate Mary Ellen. Thank you Mark and team Arbour for this installment!

So much to feel good about in this chapter that I am deathly afraid of what's next…

Great point by all of the people that have posted reviews prior to mine… I agree with everything that has been written. The one thing I am curious about and wonder if Mark will indulge us is this: Will there be a session where we get to see/hear Wally and Clara counseled on their own, so that they can arrive at an understanding of how things are, and how they might have gotten that way? Of course the follow up to that would be what would they have to do to begin to salvage a relationship with Zach? Thank your Mark & Team Arbour!

Christmas present? Ending the chapter like that on Christmas? – thanks Mark… Joking… LOL! Thank you for my Christmas fix of Streak!

I like it - remember "Darth" Darth Cheney - was that an SNL thing? I can't recall what comedy show did that to Mr. Cheney...LOL! Thank you Mark for setting an appropriate stage for us to comment on politics within the constraints of the CAP storyline…

Heavy sigh – Zack's parents really overplayed their hand this go 'round, didn't they? I wonder if the news that Zach is moving back to a Escorial would be enough to make them back down once and for all? After all, what could be a worse fate for Zach than driving him back to modern day Sodom and Gomorrah? I sense that Frank will have to be the middleman in this and I'm not really quite sure what role Brad will play given is part of the "evil" that has put Zack at risk? The art gallery was at fun scene setting up yet another interesting Escorial dinner episode. I wonder exactly how the gallery owner managed know both Stef and JP? I guess we will find out in the next chapter or two… It was interesting how Zach handled David and kudos to Mark for giving us such an interesting scene to illustrate how bad he was and how far that he has come to this point... Quite a closing scene to have Brad walking on Will and Zack – The next face-to-face interaction should be interesting. One can only hope that some time with Brad and the rest of the family at Escorial overtime will restore some of Marks self-worth... Thank you Kark & Team Arbour!

A very nice tug at the heartstrings - well done! Thank you for sharing it with us!

Very nice chapter all around – "feel good" everywhere. Matt continues to astound me with his new level of maturity, which speaks volumes for the future that he and Wade should have. I know there's a damn shoe waiting to drop somewhere – and it'll be a big one! Thank you Mark and team Arbour!

Looks like Hammer will be making some new friends in Africa for the next two years, either that, or some special friends in prison... I haven't counted but this is at least two, perhaps three chapters with no real drama. I feel like something must be building up for an explosion. I admire Brad and his position about Marc needing to get along with his sons, but he seems to have taken it, like most things, to an extreme. Not sure if that is really the best position to occupy. What's next? To borrow a phrase from Daddydavek - more please! Thanks Marks!

My face hurts from the continual big grin I was wearing the whole time that I was reading this chapter! I even chuckled at the visual of "poor Will" being abandoned in the halls of Escorial! I sure hope that Stef's comments about Marc and "his type" are accurate and that Brad will be flexible enough to have a great shot at an enduring relationship. Regarding Marc's unease with Matt, I'm sure that Brad wil explain to Marc how Matt operates and he will relax... thank you mark and team!

Not only do Brad and Marc seem good for each other at this point, but it also gave Brad a chance to reconnect with Will and that too means that Stefan will soon reconcile with Will as well. This chapter seemed particularly short but that may be because it was just pretty much focused on Brad and Marc. It read really fast but I bet if I check the word count it probably is going to come in at the usual 5000to 6000 words…thank you Mark!